ChangeCamp engages citizens, politicians

Over 150 citizens from all walks of life came together to participate in ChangeCamp Edmonton on Saturday at the Lister Conference Centre for an opportunity to re-imagine governance and participation in the community.

“There’s two things we should do today: have great discussions and make connections,” explained Chris LaBossiere, conference mediator.

At the beginning of the gathering, participants were asked to pitch ideas that they were interested in discussing, and these were then given a 45-minute slot in the timetable and a station to be discussed at. Five discussion stations were in progress at any one time (a sixth was opened later in the afternoon) thereby allowing participants to simply move to another discussion if they wished. After 45 minutes, the stations began new topics.

Though the individuals who pitched the topic idea generally initiated and led the conversation, there was no hierarchy set in place.

“There’s no board of directors, there’s no one who’s in charge, there’s no boss: it’s just a coming together of people to discuss new ideas,” LaBossiere said to participants that morning.

There were no restrictions on who could attend. The group consisted of people from a wide variety of backgrounds and ages, including students, entrepreneurs, city employees, journalists, and even politicians such as MLA Laurie Blakeman (Edmonton-Centre).

“[I attended] looking for ways to engage people, to give them an opportunity to talk to me,” Blakeman said.

Discussion topics also varied considerably, touching on everything from how to support and engage women in politics to preserving "accountability journalism." One common theme investigated throughout the day was the possibility of using new-age technology to improve the democratic process by better integrating citizen involvement.

Applications like Twitter and wikis were widely popular, and projects such www.fixmystreet.ca (a website allowing citizens to report graffiti, potholes, and street lighting problems directly to
the city) were cited as proof of the possibility of citizens to effect change in governance. Dialogue was enriched by the participation of representatives, such as city councillor Don Iveson, who reminded people of the difficulties that these sorts of modern media applications pose to public officials.

“To expect elected officials to be aware of everybody’s input because they put it out through those media, without any kind of aggregation, is not realistic,” Iveson said in one discussion group.

ChangeCamp seems to be setting a trend in Canada. The first took place in Toronto last January, and was initiated by a social media consultant named Mark Kuznicki. The idea caught on in Ottawa, Vancouver, and was finally brought to Edmonton by a volunteer committee composed largely of people from the communications arena. ChangeCamp Halifax is scheduled for December 9 this year.

After the discussion group sessions were completed, those in attendance were asked to share what they had learned and what connections they had made.

To conclude the event, participants were asked in the “next step” component to brainstorm ideas as to how they might apply these discussions and go about affecting change directly in their communities. Some of the group continued on to a local restaurant afterward for beverages, since, as former SU president and event volunteer Michael Janz pointed out, “What political revolution can you have without a few beers?”